Category: Opinion »

Even as we move further and further into the digital age, the appeal of trading cards is still understandable. There's a natural inclination for all of us to want to collect something, even if the expense and physical space taken up by small pieces of cardboard is more difficult for some people to fathom.

Topps understands both parts of this dichotomy, which is why it's been pushing aggressively into the digital trading card space with apps like NFL HUDDLE and the more recent UFC KNOCKOUT. Now the company has turned its attention to the world of sports entertainment, releasing the WWE SLAM app this week.

Fans of the previous apps will find this one all too comfortable, since many of its core features are the same. For everyone else who's a fan of the WWE, trading cards, or both, here are a few reasons why you might want to check it out.

Though the focus of the latest update to slither.iowas the new opportunity to match wits against A.I. snakes instead of human opponents, something else even more important was added to the massively popular game too. Two new control schemes made their debut, giving players a choice of three different ways to wriggle their way to the top of the leaderboard.

After intense testing (re: playing a bunch of slither.io and bugging my children to do the same), I'm come to the conclusion that while everyone is allowed an opinion, there's only one correct answer to which one of the control schemes works best. Let's examine them in turn from best to worst.

There have been loads of games released over the past year inspired by classic or newly-released anime series.

Properties like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Bleach also have new tie-in titles due this year, so it's easy to see why gamers who love Japanese animation are so excited about phones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

This year we'll hopefully see anime-inspired games released globally rather than just in Japan. There's a huge global audience for Anime-related games, and it's getting bigger every day. Sadly though the spread of these games outside of the East doesn't look like it's going to gain pace.

Square Enix is releasing the company's classic role-playing game Romancing SaGa 2 for smartphones as well as PS Vita, but it hasn't revealed whether it'll be available for global audiences just yet.

Granted, some interesting trends came out of last year - like paid apps gradually finding themselves unable to compete with free-to-play games - but we can expect 2016 to begin the way 2015 ended: With tons of mobile games to choose from on the App Store and Google Play.

2016 will also usher in Nintendo's first stab at mobile game development (outside of some Pokémon apps that are more the work of the affiliated but still somewhat independent Pokémon Company).

Were you one of the lucky/financially secure enough ones to buy a new iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus over the weekend? Yup, me too (I’m not convinced I was either of those two things, but let’s go with lucky for now), so I thought I’d delve into just what’s going to wow us about this upgrade. It turns out that so far, there’s a ton of untapped potential. [Editor's Note: I see what you did there...]

You see, the iPhone 6s’ potentially coolest feature is 3D Touch. Sensing how much pressure you apply to your iPhone’s screen could, in theory, revolutionize things in a way that we haven’t seen since the advent of touch screens. It’s distinctly early days, though.

This is particularly evident when you bear in mind there’s only really one game with 3D Touch support at the moment. That happens to be AG Drive which kind of makes sense for a game that embraces the future quite so readily. Playing a lot like WipeOut, 3D Touch does make quite a difference.

I found that by pressing down a little harder I could accelerate faster, as well as brake more quickly. It’s not as awe-inspiring as you’d hope, being more of a subtle tweak than anything right now, but it’s a great insight into what could happen next in gaming. It’s freshened up an experience that I thought I’d had my fill of.

Various apps are gradually embracing 3D Touch’s "Peek and Pop" - Apple’s term for being able to preview content by holding down on a link or button. For instance, doing this to Dropbox’s icon allows you to perform various quick actions, while Instagram lets you see thumbnail previews. It is a little tetchy though, so expect to change your settings so that 3D Touch recognises ‘light’ touches, otherwise it might not work correctly for you.

Stock Apps allow you to do things like preview messages or website links, saving you valuable time and being all-around a little cooler than before.

None of this is a game changer. Yet. But I can see it going that way. Imagine an Angry Birds game where how hard you press down on the reticule affects how violently the bird is thrown? Or an FPS game’s machine gun firing more rapidly because of how hard you "squeeze" the trigger.

The potential is pretty cool, and while for now it might seem gimmicky, it could make all the difference in making our games feel more tactile. That’s got to be a good thing, right?

If you’ve bothered to look at my profile on here, first of all, why are you that interested? Second of all, you’ll note that I stated that Final Fantasy VII (and Goldeneye) were ‘life-changing’ for me. Ok, so there’s a certain amount of hyperbole there, but those two games ensured I went from "Hey, games are quite fun when I've got nothing better to do" to "I love everything about them and they’re very important to me." That’s a double-edged sword to one’s productivity levels, but hey, look what I’m doing right now.

As a big mobile gaming fan and a big Final Fantasy VII fan, I should be excited about it coming to iOS, right? Well, not so much.

Yesterday’s WWDC was full of all sorts of interesting announcements for all sorts of Apple-related operating systems. A lot of really impressive stuff is in the works, but the most significant change for the Apple Watch has got to be allowing for native apps (i.e. apps that are installed directly on the watch rather than piggybacking over from the iPhone).

If you’re like me, you’re a little hooked on knowing what’s going on in the world. I’ve been on nights out and still slightly drunkenly gazed at the TV in the bar because I’ve wanted to see what the breaking news was. Yeah, I know. It turns out that the Apple Watch might be the ideal device for news hounds such as me. While it’s yet to provide a perfect news reading experience, there are a few great ways of gaining some insight on your wrist.

A couple of months ago I ruminated on what the Apple Watch could and couldn’t do (as indicated by Apple’s own descriptions, since the watch itself wasn’t out yet). I also ruminated on what it seemed to be doing right and what it was doing wrong. Now that I’ve actually had one for a bit and have been using it daily, some of my thoughts have changed. Some for the better, and some for the worse.

So it’s time to take a look back at what I got right (ha-ha!) and what I got wrong (boo!).

As someone keen on wearable technology encouraging me to get fit, it felt a little too easy to be cynical about the Apple Watch before getting my hands on one. The battery life sounded poor, it looked kind of bulky, and the lack of built-in GPS made me wonder why I’d want one to go alongside my iPhone. Those issues aren’t miraculously solved, but it turns out the Apple Watch has grown on me a lot already in my short time with it. There are a few good reasons for that, partly due to stock apps and partly due to some of my old favorites.

’Tis the season for movies with obscenely large budgets, and often obscenely larger explosions. There are a lot of big films that have just come out, are coming out, or will be out soon - to the point where it can be difficult to keep up. But don’t fret! 148Apps has got you covered with our list of nine apps to make your moviegoing experiences easier.

Innovations at Apple are great, of course, but how does the Apple Watch perform as an actual watch? It’s something that few of us have probably given much thought because we were too busy wondering if this would be the next big thing for Apple in terms of gaming and app design.

It’s not here yet but there’s that developing sneaky feeling that the Apple Watch, despite its price tag and low battery life, might yet change quite a lot about how we conduct our lives. While I don’t think it’s going to be an overnight transformation, I can see it being a slow but steady process. One such area where the Apple Watch could make all the difference is when it comes to convenience while traveling. Here are a few ways in which it could simplify our traveling life.